By Trista Crossley Battle scars from the last farm bill debate have just barely faded, but according to industry representatives, it’s already time for agriculture to start thinking about the next farm bill, due in 2018. “It didn’t seem like agriculture had a loud enough voice in negotiations on the last farm bill,” explained Michelle Hennings, executive director of the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The public is so well-fed that most Americans have little interest in where their food comes from. Which is a problem for farmers, said Kim Kidwell, executive associate dean of academic programs for the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “If we don’t have citizens who care about that, we don’t ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A Washington state farm group this week assured the Environmental Protection Agency that it will pay $2,000 for records related to the What’s Upstream advocacy campaign. Save Family Farming, whose members include Western Washington diaries under scrutiny by environmental groups, wants to know the depth of EPA’s involvement and its motives for funding the campaign, the ... Read More »

From Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Washington Association of Wheat Growers Lobbyist Diana Carlen has provided the following summary of who has filed for office in Washington state this election cycle. Senate The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus currently control the Senate by 26-23. The major races in the Senate are as follows: · 43rd District (Mercer Island): Sen. Steve Litzow (R) ... Read More »

By Josh Tonsager Legislative Director, National Association of Wheat Growers Congressional action this year on policy priorities important to wheat farmers has taken some unexpected turns, and the outlook for the legislative process is unclear. By now, this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following Congress the past several years. What should come as a ... Read More »

Stripe rust found throughout Pacific Northwest wheat fields By Xianming Chen Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS We were checking wheat and barley fields on May 25 in Latah County of Idaho and Whitman, Spokane, Lincoln, Grant, Douglas and Adams counties of Washington. Winter wheat ranged from Feekes 10 (boot) to Feekes 10.5.4 (milk), and spring wheat and barley ranged From Feekes 1 ... Read More »

The McGregor Company will award 10 Standing Tall for American Agriculture scholarships to regional high school seniors this spring. The 2016 graduating high school seniors who will each receive a $1,000 scholarship are: • Marisa Lustig, Cottonwood, Idaho • Anthony Wiley, Prosser, Wash. • Madison Fisher, Wilder, Idaho • Kenton Lyman, Colfax, Wash. • Miles Maxcer, Moscow, Idaho • Hallie ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse A spending bill that included a rider to stop the Obama administration from implementing its “waters of the U.S.” rule failed in the House after conservatives bolted over an amendment that was adopted to protect LGBT rights. The defeat of the bill threw in doubt the open amendment process that the GOP leadership was using to debate appropriations ... Read More »

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) has selected Chandler Goule as it’s new chief executive officer, replacing Jim Palmer who stepped down to spend more time with his family on his Missouri farm. Goule will assume his responsibilities on July 5. Most recently, Goule served as senior vice president of programs at the National Farmers Union (NFU) where he ... Read More »

From NAWG Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the Senate version of the FY 2017 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill includes $21.25 billion in discretionary spending, including $2.54 billion for ag research through the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food Agriculture (AFRI). Additionally, similar to the House version, the Senate bill increases funding for ... Read More »